Publisher's Synopsis
The Mission of Abbé Glasberg is the fascinating story of a priest - of Jewish origins - who dedicated himself to the task of helping the refugees who were streaming into France during the years preceding World War II. Together with Father Chaillet, Alexandre Glasberg created the ecumenical Amitié Chrétienne in May 1942 with the full support of Cardinal Gerlier, archbishop of Lyon.
In a joint effort, they managed to retrieve hundreds of Jewish children from French-run concentration camps and disperse them among religious houses and private homes. They refused to give them up even when the government of Vichy placed Chaillet under house arrest in a psychiatric hospital for three months.
They disregarded the orders of Alexandre Angeli, the regional prefect of Lyon, who was a Nazi collaborator. Angeli was condemned to a death penalty immediately after the war, later commuted to a sentence of four year-imprisonment. Abbé Glasberg later joined the French underground.
After the war, Abbé Glasberg assisted the Mossad in their attempt to transport many of the war survivors to the land of Israel.
